Quantum computers have captured the imagination for over 20 years. Until a few years ago, it seemed to be an extremely interesting area of scientific research. In the last few years, we have entered a new phase, as the belief has grown that it will really be possible to build a large-scale quantum computer.
Possible application areas range from energy and health to security. In this lecture, I will introduce the basic concepts of the quantum computer, indicate how far we have come and what the major challenges are that we must overcome.